ÉCOLE BILINGUE NOTRE DAME DE SION,
ST. LAURENT, QUÉBEC

When Barbra Goetz, a teacher at École Bilingue (www.ebnds.ca), was recently asked by a reporter what she found to be the best thing about teaching. Her reply was “hope.” She gave this answer.

“How can a school teach 'hope'? While on a daily basis we push hard that the academic benchmarks required to be bilingual in both mother tongue French and English are met, we never lose sight of our mission statement as defined by the Spirit of Sion.

Looking over a school year, it has been a year of inviting parents to celebrate the faiths of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Greek Orthodox with the children. We recycled; helped socialize a guide dog, played basketball, hockey and soccer. In after school programs, we had fun with science, piano, martial arts, and a warm environment to come 'home' to at the end of a busy school day. We wished each other a sweet new year with apples and honey, and children eagerly saved coins for Sr. Jackie's Lenten box. Our peacekeepers are at recess and lunch did peer mediation. All of these activities took place in an environment of respect and celebration of the diversity that is all of us.

In June, our forty-one graduates will receive their diploma that they have worked so hard to achieve, and their gift that symbolizes the spirit of Sion. They have been taught and expected to live this spirit each day. It is the combination of these two things that gives me a great deal of 'hope'. ”

SR. MARY ELLEN AND SR. STEPHANIE
hosted students from Sion Kansas City School

Two High School Juniors, Cathryn Yuille and Lynn LeCluyse spent five days of their spring break from Sion School in Kansas City (www.ndsion.edu) with Mary Ellen and Stephanie in Chicago to further their interfaith and inner city ministry interest. Some of their experiences were visiting the mosque for Friday prayer, joining a Jewish family for Shabbat, and going to a synagogue service. In advance , there were preparation discussions and shared learnings in interreligious dialogue afterwards. They also participated in a preparation for a grade school Insight Tutor Mentor Program in inner city Chicago and tutored individual students.

Their reflections on the experience included: “It was a life altering experience,” and “experiencing other cultures and religious practices has taught me more about spirituality and myself.”

GATHERINGS OF ALUMS AND FRIENDS EVEN IN PLACES WHERE SION SCHOOLS WERE CLOSED

Sion's charism is still lived, remembered and shared in cities where Sion no longer has schools! Sion schools in Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw closed several decades ago, yet every September there is a luncheon of usually ninety alums held in Saskatoon every September and organized by a former student, Shirley (Andrew) Shewchuk. Even 25th and 50th anniversaries of graduation are celebrated. It was started by Shirley, years ago when she had a reunion of her class and it has grown each year. Sr. Kay MacDonald always gives news of Sion around the world.

Also recently we received news that four Sisters of Sion in Australia went to Sale, Australia at the request of former students and friends where they once had a Sion school beginning there in 1890. They wanted to hear more of the charism and the works of Sion today. The large attendance showed that Sion's charism is alive in Sale. They are already looking forward to next year's reunion!

Sr. Celia and Sr. Mary Ellen spent a week at Notre Dame de Sion in Kansas City. They had an amazing time at both campuses visiting with students and teachers.

Monday evening would find them in the bleachers cheering for Sion Storm in their annual basketball game against St. Teresa's. They had a “screaming” good time and Sion won as well.

At the high school, Celia and Mary Ellen visited religion and peer ministry classes to talk about religious life and the Sisters of Sion – sharing stories of their life and God's call. As Sr. Celia said – it is her most favorite thing in the world to talk about. The girls responded with both warmth and curiosity.

At the grade school, they joined the Holy Ground religion classes as they celebrated “Founders Day”. The littlest ones presented them with “doves” that they made and the older children, a play about January 20th. Later they even joined a 5th grade music class and tried their hand at “drumming.”

On Friday morning, “we joined the faculty from both campuses in an in-service morning on the internationality of Sion. Small groups armed with the Sion Status, computers, and of course, the two of us as resources, worked to learn all they could about Sion – sisters, schools, brothers – around the world. The desire to get connected is strong and there are some interesting projects brewing.”

Celia and Mary Ellen went back to Brooklyn and Chicago energized and inspired by the sharing of Sion's mission and look forward to going back next year.